Hi guys,

I just bought a 75/25 gas cylinder today (55cu in?) and I want to do a little practicing first.

When I get around to actually welding stuff on my car I was worried about one thing though. Can I or can I not touch the metal that I am welding? I'm not gonna put my fingers anywhere near the welding arc, but probably about 12 inches away. Like when I have to hold up a 90 degree bend to my DP to tack weld it on. I have some thick welding gloves with the gauntlets so it's not like I'm doing it barehanded.

TIA

 

I havent done much welding at all but from what I know about electricity there is no chance you are going to electrocute yourself that way. The voltage from a welder is quite low. It also has a nice patch through the steel or whatever to from the ground. I dont see any reason or way it could reach through your gloves and into your body. To go through your gloves either youd have to either be working with high voltages (in the thousands perhaps) or your gloves be soaked in something conductive (salt water, perhaps regular water would work too). Id be interested to hear though what it is like when do you get in the circuit somehow.

Another thing to be aware of is alternating current is much more dangerous then direct current. Unless you are welding alumninum or something you will probably be using direct anyways. But your body reacts much worse to AC so id be a bit more careful around it.

 

I've been zapped plenty of times tiggin, it's nothing you'll die off of but it doesn't feel right either. It's one of those "did I just get zapped?" then you keep working things...

Holding the dp shouldn't get you zapped, I got zapped by the arc on the torch.

 

migging iv never had any problem... tigging it happens from time to time...when the rod is closer to the tungsten then the workpiece is and ur barehanded...u get a nice shock but nothin that could kill u... at least the stuff i do... 150+amp in a/c though... ull remember it alright... lol

 

I dont think I'll ever get around to learning how to TIG weld, so I'll probably be doing mostly MIG welding with my Handler 140. I plan to always wear my welding gloves when I'm welding, and I'll keep my hand far enough away from the torch to where I dont have to worry about zapping my arm or something.

 

I've never shocked myself w/ TIG... but I do have this problem where I touch still-molten filler rod to my body. I stuck a red hot piece in my mouth the other day (this practice probably is not particularly sanitary, but when the rods get short I put the "cold" end in my mouth while moving the work around). I was getting tired and stuck the hot end in my mouth hah. Don't do that.

 

current always takes the path of least resistance. It's al lot easier to push electrons through the metal you are welding than it is for your body. I've been shocked by the TIG high frequency current though....

 

Yeah I get "shocked" all the time by my maxstar's high frequency start... but I don't think that counts hehe.

 

I always weld without gloves or a jacket on and never get electricuted, except, a few times when i touched the TIG rod to the electrode, my arm went numb.

 

Thanks for the replies guys,

When I first got my welder I was very careful with it. I'm very methodical when it comes to working on certain things. I'll just make sure not to do anything like licking the torch or anything, hehehe.

 

I've shocked myself a couple of times while tigging. It happens when I have a bad ground clamp, it it plain falls off the work piece.

Its not that bad... just feels kind of strange.

 

I just got done practicing MIG welding with gs and I said screw it and held onto the pipe. I didn't get shocked but I did flash myself when I forgot to flip the lid down on my helmet. I'm getting sick of not being able to see with the tint visor and I dont like the idea of nodding my head to get the visor to fall down. I think I'm just gonna buy this Hobart auto-tint helmet I saw at the welding place which was on sale for $99.

 

I tried using the welding gloves I bought when I bought my welder.... i found the uncomfortable... I use my regular mechanix gloves... A lot more comfortable!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Boosted96EK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I tried using the welding gloves I bought when I bought my welder.... i found the uncomfortable... I use my regular mechanix gloves... A lot more comfortable!!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

It was the opposite for me, but my mechanix gloves are used. These new welding gloves have a really soft cotton inner, it doesn't feel like I'm wearing leather gloves.

 

I've welded with mechanix gloves... they don't protect you from heat anywhere near as well as actual leather gloves. I've had mine start to melt while I was welding hehe.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dustin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've welded with mechanix gloves... they don't protect you from heat anywhere near as well as actual leather gloves. I've had mine start to melt while I was welding hehe.</TD></TR></TABLE>

wow, that's good to know. I thought used my mechanix gloves before I got these welding gloves. The reason I didn't wanna use them anymore is cause they smell of oil and gas, and since they are black I can never get them clean (the dye just runs). These gloves I have now are soooo comfortable, plus they have the gauntlets that go halfway up my forearm..

 

I use work gloves that construction workers use, there is also a pair of gloves I need to pick up, I'm sure you have all seen them. There grey with purple stripes, they work really well.

About 5 years ago when I was learning to arc weld I was always scared I was gonna get electrocuted, but after you really think about it, its rarely ever gonna happen. Now I can't speack for tig welding, because I have never tigged weld. But for mig welding, the chances are not high.

Just don't weld right after you got out of the shower , or if you just walked threw a rain storm. We all know what water does.

 

I got one good the other day. Didn't realize my ground strap fell of the metal table. So I grab my torch and my filler...lay on the pedal and bam, high frequency shocks the **** out of me right through the filler rod! That was the only time I ever got shocked by TIG...pretty lucky I guess.